Love in Order to Live
by BelleBlack17
Summary: This is my first fic, so read and REVIEW! I will do anything for reviews! So this is a Marauder fic except without Peter because we hate him. A nice premise really...good vs. evil...Sirius Black...good times. SO READ AND REVIEW!


A/N: This starts in the 7th year of James, Sirius and Remus and we're gonna just forget about Peter because he sucks…R&R!!

Ch. 1 – Train

"Well, Padfoot, we're back to the ol' hellhole," said a 17-yr-old boy with messy black hair, hazel eyes and glasses, completely oblivious to the stares that he and his friend were getting from numerous girls on Platform 9 ¾.

"Yeah. But think about it this way, Prongs, it's our last year! Only 9 more months to wreak havoc and trap girls. Or in your case, at least lure her close to it," 17-yr-old Sirius said. But he saw the faraway look come over his best friend's eyes and he knew that could only mean one thing. He followed James' gaze to the only girl who'd managed to steal his heart, Lily Evans. She had long coppery hair that rippled in the sun of the platform and leaf green eyes that sparkled as she hurried to meet her friends. Sirius realized that James was in his happy place and snapped him back to reality when he pointed out that their other best friend, Remus Lupin, who cad just come bounding through the barrier.

Remus only responded with a "Hey guys! Shall we get a compartment before they all full up?" and the three of them ventured onto the train.

They settled into the first empty compartment they found and Remus said with a smirk, "Oh, by the way James, congrats on that new Head Boy badge…" and at this, Sirius burst out laughing with a, "No wonder you wouldn't tell me who got it!" James turned beet red but Sirius paid him no heed.

"Do you know how many windows to prankdom just opened with that badge to yours? You can stay out late, you have access to all the –"

"I wouldn't be getting any ideas if I were you _Padfoot_," came a silky voice that belonged to none other than Severus Snape, the trio's perpetual enemy since 1st year, "because I know I would just love to be the prefect to finally get you and your cohorts expelled." By this time, all four teenagers had their wands drawn. It was only when Lily and her friends came walking down the aisle and noticed the fight about to break out. Snape immediately backed away and James hastily hid his wand.

Sirius, however, said calmly, "Hola, Evans, how goes it? We were just figuring out whether Furunculous or Jelly Legs would suit ol' Snivelly better."

"Oh come on, Sirius, we're not even at school yet, can we just give it a rest until then?" asked Remus in a tired voice, "Besides, I'm feeling a little sick." Snape smirked at this, but James and Sirius rushed over at once to check if he was ok. Lily heard "5 days" and made to leave, but James was too quick. He jumped up and leaned casually against the door, barring their way.

"You know, Evans, you're welcome to…you know…hang around in our compartment instead of hunting for another one. Especially with losers like _him_ on the loose," he said, gesturing at Snape.

"Well, Potter, if this is another attempt to get me to go out with you, it won't work, so I hope you realize that this is only"

"Aww, cut the crap Lily and get in!" said a girl none of the three boys recognized. They knew Jean, the platinum-blonde, blue eyed, red-lipsticked girl wearing funky vintage clothes and accessories, a muggleborn. They also knew Michelle, the one with choppy dirty blonde hair and chocolate eyes already wearing her school robes with a Gryffindor Prefect badge pinned neatly on the left side because Remus had secretly loved her since an unfortunate moonlit encounter in 4th year, and, of course, Lily herself. But the fourth girl was clearly a new student. Sirius took a moment to drink her in as the girls moved to settle into the compartment.

She had clearly just changed into her school things because she was wearing the uniform, but was carrying her robe. Sirius could only think of one phrase to describe her: effortlessly sexy. For the brief moment the locked eyes, he noticed her unusual deep blue eyes. Her hair was long, dark and loosely wavy and he noticed how she swatted it away when it fell in her face, as if she had other much more important things to do. She had perfect features, a neat nose, sultry eyes defined by long lashes and a smudge of kohl. He felt as if those eyes could see into his very soul, which made him shift in his seat. His glance moved down to her lips where it embraced their fullness, shape, size and shine that begged to be kissed. He then feasted his eyes on one of the most beautiful bodies he had ever laid eyes on: her neck and shoulders that led to graceful arms and petite hands, a slim torso with a small waist but a well-endowed chest trapped under her blouse, her hips, perfect hips that led to long toned thighs and calves ending in small feet. Sirius guessed she stood around 5'6" compared to Lily's 5'4". Even the way her clothes fit was sexy. He loved how her sleeves were cuffed up to her elbows, exposing her forearms and how her top button was undone and her red and gold tie was loose around her neck, no doubt tied in a hurry. Her long legs gave the illusion that her skirt was a little shorter than normal which turned him on. The knee socks hugged her claves and led to a pair of worn in black tennis shoes. His fantasies were curtailed by Remus.

"Stop your going and have the decency to introduce yourself!" he called, emerging from a conversation with Michelle. Sirius realized that for once, he was silent. James and Jean were laughing with Lily, who was trying hard to keep a straight face at James' jokes and Remus was deep in conversation with Michelle.

"Oh, yeah," he approached the girl, who was adjusting her tie in a vain attempt to make the ends even. "Do you want me to help you with that? I'm Sirius, by the way, Sirius Black."

"Yeah, thanks a lot. I'm definitely less than a sailor with tying ties…I'm Elizabeth Porter. But most people call me…um…Betty. And do you mind if I call you Sirius? Because the whole last mane thing really screws me up."

"Yeah, that's cool," he noticed she had a trace of an American accent. "You're new this year, right?"

"Yep. I was getting a little worried when nobody noticed I was even here…Crazy Brits…"

"I noticed…" he said with a twinge of pink. "So did you transfer or what?"

"Yeah, from Salem academy in New York. My parents are…were…aurors, but now…I came here to live with my aunt," she finished brightly, and a large eruption came from James who had fed Jean a vinegar Bertie Bott's jelly bean.

"HEY! For all you nimrods who failed to notice, this is Betty Porter, she's from New York!" Sirius yelled.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh…so Evans, why no intro?" asked James. But before she could answer (and it was bound to me fiery, due to the expression on her face), Michelle and Remus cut in with a chorus of "don't even start"s and "save it"s.

The rest of the ride was spent comparing and contrasting Hogwarts and Salem, which turned out to be almost identical except instead of houses, there was a giant dorm and there were only two students per room. Betty commented, "That way, you become friends with more people, not just the ones in your house." Salem was also much bigger because it was the only wizarding school in all of the States.

Sirius was back to his self again, interjecting when it was unnecessary and cracking jokes, but he was secretly annoyed that he couldn't talk to Betty alone for the rest of the ride.

The train pulled into the stop and the teens crammed into a carriage and set off towards the castle for another year.

A/N: That's all for now, but I should be posting Ch. 2 soon which will be all the grit about the marauders and the girls. Some good gossip. Now go on!! You know you want to be the 1st reviewer!!! And if you have any story ideas about what could happen, email em to me, don't post them! Happy reading!

Ch. 2 – Secrets and Lies

The Students made their way into the Great Hall, chattering, and they all filtered out to their different house tables, shouting at old friends and enemies from previous years. Our friends made their way to the Gryffindor table where they were surprised to see that Betty sat right down.

"Have you already been sorted?" asked James.

"Well obviously, or she wouldn't be here!" snapped Lily

"Sheesh, sorry. You know, you're awfully hot when you're mad." Lily gave him a look of disgust and moved from next to him to the other side of Jean. Betty sat down across from Jean, Next to Sirius. She'd taken a liking to his easygoing senses of Humor and adventure, just like her. Remus, on the opposite side of Sirius, was staring at Michelle, who was next to Getty.

"Well, if you still want to know why I'm here, Dumbledore just owled me and automatically sorted me into Gryffindor because of…some stuff. But who wants to go up there looking like an idiot next to all the midgets?" said Betty, and a rumble of laughter descended over the group. Dumbledore stood up after the Sorting to make his usual start of tern notices and Betty noticed his gaze fix upon James, Sirius and Remus and her in turn when he talked about the Forbidden Forest.

"But you all already know that," he continued, "So if you will kindly turn your attention to your plates and—" but exactly what the 'and' was they'd never know, for the Hall filled with the clatter and chatter of the feast.

"So, what is so terrible about this Forbidden Forest? Sounds intriguing…" said Betty, turning back to Sirius.

"Oh, loads of things, over the years there's been a ton of strange things that happen in there like—" but he was interrupted by Remus loudly clearing his throat and lily who scolded:

"Oh, Betty, don't you listen to him, they're just a bunch of trouble makers, every last one of them!"

"_Oh, Betty dear, you should just to to bed before they corrupt you,_" mocked James, Grinning at a displeased Lily, "Lighten up Evans, she's just curious!"

"The day I stop sticking up for my friends will be the day –"

"You go out with me?"

"NEVER!"

Everyone gave sighs of desperation; Betty realized that this was old news for James.

"But anyway, I really think you should listen to me," Sirius turned the conversation back to himself, "Besides, it's not like you can resist this," he said, slipping his hand around her waist and sliding her closer to him.

"Aaaah, don't give in to the Sirius Charm! He only wants you in his bed!" yelled Jean.

"Is that true??" Betty gasped.

"Well, I'm slightly notorious for the one night stand, but I'm still capable of a relationship," he admitted, although James cut in with, "Yeah, as long as it's under a week!"

"Oh yeah, how many girls have you even dated, let alone slept with?"

"Why, are you counting?" James retorted, turning red again. Sirius noticed Lily's head turn sharply towards them but everyone else knew that the answer was none.

The girls left the boys to argue and turned in to have their own private conversation. Michelle pointed to Betty's waist, around which was Sirius' hand – still. It slowly recoiled to point at James and Betty gave a sigh of relief.

"You know, most girls would kill to have that hand around their waists," said Michelle in a hushed voice.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," Jean interrupted, "He's hot stuff around here, or anywhere, for that matter. Unfortunately, he knows it, and uses it to his advantage…"

"I never would have guessed," Betty said sarcastically.

"He and James are the most sought after boys in England, practically! People ask them out all the time, there's always something on the notice boards asking," Jean continued, "But James never answers them. Sure he'll flirt occasionally, but he's only got eyes for this one here," she said, jerking her thumb at Lily.

"Potter's been asking me out everyday since about ½ way through 5th year but I still hate him, so I wonder why he hasn't given up yet."

"uh, because he loves you!" he just doesn't say the 'L' word because he things you'll freak out once you realize he's serious!" Jean was the only one of the girls who was as close to the boys as she was to the girls.

"Well, I won't ever love him back," Lily sighed and looked over at James, who was laughing. Betty, however, detected something other than hate in Lily's eyes and decided to change the subject.

"So, what about Remus? What's his scoop?" To her surprise, it wasn't Jean that piped up with the gossip, but Michelle.

"nobody know everything about Re—I mean…Lupin except Black and Potter and clearly, there's something about him that they all know but won't tell anyone else, but we do know that he's really a lovely—er—lively person even though he comes off shy in the beginning.

"He's by far the most mature and down-to-earth of them, it baffles me how they can all be so close," said Lily, her nose high and with an air to explain her Head Girl badge.

"Yeah, but I can totally see the bond," said Jean, "They love pulling pranks on people, pissing off Filch, hanging out in detention, you know the drill."

"Wow," Betty marveled, "They certainly seem like a diversely entertaining group. Aaah, shove it!" she said to some Slytherins who whistled on their way past.

"So Moony, when are you and Michelle getting together?" I saw you two on the train!" said James.

"Er…how about when you successfully get Lily to date you?"

"Very funny, but seriously, you've gotten really close over the years."

"Come on guys, you know I don't want to risk her finding out!"

"Hey man, I don't think she'll care. Well, of course she'll care but…well, you know what I mean," said Sirius.

"I guess, but she might already know."

"why's that?"

"well, she's always realy concerned when I'm sick, but she knows to give me my space. And she's super smart too, you know?"

"Maybe Jean told her,"James shrugged.

"No way, Jean would never tell! She just found out by accident, remember?" Jean had been taking a stroll one night and unwillingly witnessed Remus transform, "And she would never betray you like that. It's not like it affected your friendship either," Sirius pointed out.

"I guess so. Maybe I'll just let her know when the time's right. Remus concluded.

"What do you two thing of the new girl? I like her," said James, steering clear of dangerous waters.

"yeah, she seems pretty cool." Remus said, "Sirius? Sirius!!" He yelled at him because he was still staring at Betty, "What do you thing about her?"

"who?"

"Betty, you coot!" James nagged.

"Oh yeah, her. Oh man, I don't know, she's ok."

"Come on, you were the one talking to her on the train, you must have gotten to know a little about her! Or were you just staring at her the whole time?"'

"I was not! I fixed her tie and I found out her parents were aurors but she came here to live with her aunt. I figure that her parents maybe didn't come back from work one night…yes…but she seems really excited to be here and with her aunt."

"is that everything?"Remus said, "Because it seems like that's not all the deails. It sounds like it has something to do with…er…Voldemort…to me. The Prophet had an article over the summer about a whole slew of killings in the States, both muggle and wizards."

"Let's not try to figure this all out right now, old pal," James suggested, "After all, we've only known hera bout 5 hours. We can get to know her. And Sirius'll probably know her best…"

"Hey, just because she's hot doesn't mean I want to sleep with her!"

"Hah! You admitted it! You do thing she's hot!"

"Well, duh! You'd be out of your mind to think otherwise."

"She is hot, but I've seen the way you're been looking at her," Remus said.

"You want to fuck her," James accused.

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Yes I do, so what?"

"Just promise me, if you insist on having her, just don't move too fast," said Remus, "Hold on…what are they talking about?"

They listened intently to Jean list things they liked to do and when she said, "Sneak out to –" Remus nudged James under the table and he promptly developed a hacking cough. The girls stopped talking and Betty pushed his drink closer, which he took.

People were starting to go back to their houses, so the group slowly made their way up to the Fat Lady, gave the password ("ukulele luau") and went to their separate dormitories.

(girl's dorm)

" I am so stuffed!" Jean gasped, flopping on to her four-poster bed, "Those feasts kill me, every time."

"It was pretty amazing," admitted Betty.

"Hey Lily, did you get a load of Snivel—Snape? He was staring at out again at dinner,"Jean said.

"ugh, he is so creepy! I'd rather make out with James!" At this the whole room went silent and they all stared at her, mouths gaping. Lily, however, didn't notice and only said, "I'm going to bed, classes start tomorrow." She turned around and realized they were all staring at her. "What?"

"You'd make out with James?" said Jean.

"No. well I would before I dated Smape. But the point is that I loathe both of them beyond all reason. Now _I_ am going to bed before you all start playing 'Would You Rather'." And with that, she turned out the light.

"This is it," said Michelle quietly to Jean, "This is the year. She's gonna give in to James, I can see it."

Ch. 3 – Hoofs, Hair and Detention

Dawn broke and not long after, the students began to stir and get ready for their first period classes.

"Advanced Transfiguration first," Michelle said and they walked to their classroom after they ate breakfast.

"NEWT Transfiguration to be exact is one of the most difficult classes you will ever take, as it involves a great deal of study, concentration and practice," Professor Vaniscak droned on and on, and a pair of mischief makers began to grow restless in their seats.

"Ya hear that Prongs? Concentration and practice. What better place to apply our skills than right here in the classroom?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Padfoot. The part you missed was the study part…studying to choose the perfect victim…" They gazed around until both pairs of eyes settled on one poor, unsuspecting victim – Snape. He was avidly taking notes at every word Professor Vaniscak said, his nose a mere inch from his parchment, eyes darting back and forth from the blackboard to his shining ink.

"Care to do the honors?" Sirius whispered, but as James raised his wand, he caught a flash of copper in his peripheral vision. Lily straightened up from writing, her hair swishing from side to side. James had second thoughts about the prank and thought she'd like him better if he didn't go through with it. Of course, he didn't tell Sirius this, but said instead with a shrug:

"Nah, it's all you. Besides, you have better aim," and with that, Sirius raised his wand like a rifle, whispered a spell and just as Snape raised his hand, a jet of purple light hit it and it fell back on to the desk with a thud. Sirius had transformed his hand into a hoof and the two boys roared with silent laughter. The rest of the class soon realized what happened and curious whispers broke the silence.

"Snape, hospital wing. Black and Potter, see me immediately after class," said Professor Vaniscak without missing a beat. Snape hurried off to the hospital wing, his hoof-hand making him lean to one side.

The rest of classed passed much faster, as time always does when there is hell to pay later. The bell rand and as the rest of the class left, exchanging furtive looks, the two boys meandered up to the front after a quick reprieving look and a, "Meet you outside," from Remus. James and Sirius reached the professor's desk, prepared to endure a one-sided row.

"You two are a disgrace," she spoke calmly, clearly past the point of screaming, "Human transfiguration on another student is absolutely intolerable in my class or otherwise. I'm afraid that such behavior isn't up to me to punish. Come with me, we are going to see the Headmaster." She swept past them, scrutinizing them with her eagle eyes as they walked out of the classroom, but Remus, contrary to his word, was nowhere to be seen. The silence was occasionally punctuated with Vaniscak's remarks such as, "never seen such behavior," and, "first day back!" until they arrived at Dumbledore's stone gargoyle.

"Nut Rolls," said Vaniscak and the gargoyle jumped aside so the three could ascend up the stone staircase. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, fingers intertwined, looking as if he expected their company.

"Very well Vanessa, you may leave them with me," and she hurried away. "I heard from Madam Pomfrey what a lovely job you did in transfiguring Mr. Snape's hand. A spectacular task though it was, Mr. Black, there needs to be an inevitable sort of punishment and that is, of course, detention. You will be expected in the Transfiguration wing at 8:00 tomorrow night.

"That all?" said Sirius, amazed.

"It may seem trivial now, but I assure you, you will soon find you have quite enough to be getting on with to have added detentions to your schedule."

"And me?" James asked.

"Mr. Potter, you are merely guilty by association, therefore, it isn't necessary to punish, as you did nothing wrong. However, you two will find yourself in the same dilemma as Me. Black. You two are dismissed."

James and Sirius left his office and proceeded to the Great Hall for lunch. On the way, they discovered why Remus hadn't met them.

They turned a corner and found Remus and Michelle in an obscure spot, involved in a passionate kiss, eyes closed, with their arms holding their bodies tightly together. Michelle's fingers teased Remus' hair while his hands held her securely at the waist. Sirius moved in closer, but if Remus noticed he was there, he didn't care. It was when Michelle finally came up for air that she gasped and jumped back from Remus. The guilty, scarlet looks on their faces were stirring many remarks in Sirius' mind, but he only said, "Well, I assume you two are on first name terms now, yes?"

"Sirius, James, please, I beg you, do NOT tell anyone!"

"Why not? I think it's cause for celebration, whaddya say Padfoot?" said James, trotting over to join them.

"Please you two, I don't want this to get thrown around, you know how much people distort things!"

Sirius gave a bark-like laugh and said, "Alright, we won't. Michelle, are you gonna tell the girls?"

"Probably, once we get back to our dormitories tonight."

They sauntered back to lunch where they met up with a stone faced Lily, a confused Betty and an indifferent Jean.

"Hello ladies, Lily," James said smoothly, "Care to dine?"

"We already ate," Jean said before Lily could interrupt, once again acting as the link between the two groups. She turned to the girls and said, "Meet you upstairs." They left, Michelle breaking from Remus to join them. Jean then rounded on the goys.

"They won't stop talking about you, you know."

"What have they said?" James eagerly awaited her answer.

"Keep your shirt on, Lily's really confused as to why you backed out. She…don't tell her I'm telling you…she says she thinks you 'wised up a little over the summer and undergone a change in character'. Translation: she won't admit it, but she's got the hotts for you. Whoa now, don't over react!!" she paused at the look on James' face, somewhere in-between amazement, relief and questioning. "That is the #1 guy problem, over reacting. It's almost as bad as girls and overanalyzing. All I ask is that you talk to her as a friend for awhile to let her see the side I know. Maybe then she'll give you a chance."

"What's Betty brooding about?" asked Sirius.

"Oh, she's just confused. She though your…stunt…was pretty entertaining and when she told Lily that, Lily started ranting at her. You should talk to her too. She really does want to get to know you guys. NOT," she added to Sirius, "get with you. She's really a lot more like you guys and me than Lily and Michelle you know." She turned to Remus, grinning. "Speaking of which, you and Michelle have been sneaking out the girl's dorm window on your broom since 6th year, haven't you?"

"How on earth did you find out??"

"One word: insomnia."

"So she didn't tell you?"

"Nope."

"Phew!" James and Sirius exchanged bewildered looks.

"So where do you stand on this whole prank business?" James asked her.

Jean shrugged, "I've seen better from you three," and she walked off.

"I think she's smarter than we give her credit for…"Remus mused.

"SINCE 6TH YEAR?!" Sirius yelled.

The next day passed in no time at all, due to the lingering cloud of detention in the paths of many students. At 8:00 that night, Sirius made his way down to Professor Vaniscak's office, but she had nothing there for him to do.

"There's nothing I need done, so you will join Mr. Filch in the Trophy Room with the other detentionees," so Sirius nodded and left. He arrived at the Trophy room late, to Filch's distaste, and saw a girl behind him with a bottle of Windex and a towel.

"Well, get on with it! And NO MAGIC!" Filch growled and stalked away, grumbling. Sirius picked up the other rag and began to shine the trophies.

"So, you're here for the hoof, huh?" said the girl. He turned around and realized that the other girl was Betty, dressed in muggle jeans, sneakers and a hoodie. He caught his jaw before it dropped to the floor and regained his composure.

"Yeah, a little welcome back present for Snivelly." She laughed. He loved the way her eyes danced and her hair shook whenever she did, but remembered what Remus and Jean said and kept things on a friend-to-friend lever. He then said, "So, who chucked you in detention on your first day here?"

"Filch."

"Really. What'd you do, pick a lock or something?"

"No! It was Peeves, actually. He threw some water balloons at me on the 3rd floor and one hit me in the chest…white shirts, you know? So anyway, know that suit of armor in that corridor?"

"Yeah…"he grinned.

"I took of the helmet and chucked it as hard as I could at his head, and, naturally, it went right through." But this time, the two were in fits of laughter and she had a hard time finishing. "The rest is history, the sound woke the dead and so here I am!"

"Good story, tell it at parties," he noted.

The two passed the time away sharing prank stories and Sirius was surprised at how much havoc Betty'd racked up over the years. She'd been kicked out of a private muggle school when she was 10 for accidentally banishing her enemy's gym shorts – while she was wearing them; them luckily got her Salem acceptance letter and told everyone she was at a correctional boarding school. At Salem, she'd made teachers yodel, locked people in quiddich lockers and changed the opposing team's robes from black to sparkle pink. This turned the conversation to quiddich, which they both had a lot to say about.

"You know the first match, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin is in a few weeks, you should definitely go."

"Wasn't planning on missing it! James in on the team, right? Seeker?"

"Nope, chaser, and captain this year too. And Remus is keeper. But everyone goes to watch, even Lily," he teased.

"Why aren't you on the team?"

"Why aren't you?"

"Ha ha. There was no room this year. But seriously!"

"I got kicked off 5th year for punching out the Slytherin captain after he knocked Remus off his broom to score. Besides, time off from practice gives me time for…more detention."

"Oh joy. It's not new for me either. But you and the Slytherins seen to get along slightly worse than chocolate ice cream and onions, yes?"

"Eheh. You could say that. Oh shit, look at the time, 10:48! I guess a little magic wouldn't hurt…" and he shined p the plaques with a wave of his wand. "This calls for emergency back-up."

He took out a small mirror from his pocket and said, "James." Betty watched as James' face appeared. "We need your cloak, it's after hours."

"Sure thing. I'll be right there, but make it quick, Remus is ill."

"Betty's here too."

"What? Oh, right," he waved at her and she waved in return.

"James has got an invisibility cloak we can all fit under to get back to the Common Room," Sirius explained, pocketing the mirror once more.

A few minutes later, James arrived and the three draped the cloak around them while they scurried upstairs. James ran back to the boy's dorm upon arrival to tend to Remus.

"Well, that was fun and exciting," Betty said.

"Yeah. Well, good night then," Sirius replied, extending his arms for a hug. She raised an eyebrow but he said, "Oh come on, we spent a whole detention together and I never once made a pass at you. Think of is as a…friendly initiation."

She smiled and they flung their arms around each other for a few seconds before letting go and heading their separate ways.

"Sirius?" she called halfway up the stairs. He appeared at the bottom of the staircase.

"Yes?"

"Thank James for me, will you?" and then she disappeared.

Ch. 4 – Midnight Ride

Betty went up to the girl's dorm room and quickly fell asleep, but was awakened a few hours later by a soft knock on the window. She went over and opened it to find James, hovering a few feet below on his broom.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"I came to talk to Lily."

"At this time of night?"

"She was supposed to be awake to meet me."

"Lily, meet you, at midnight, on a broom?"

"Yeah," he grinned, "Tell Jean because Lily sure as heck won't. Will you get her?" Betty walked over to Lily's bed and shook her arm a little.

"Mmm James, stop it!" she giggled.

"Lily wake up, it's Betty." Lily sat upright.

"What time is it?" she demanded.

"Quarter past midnight and you better go to the window or James'll come in and get you."

"Oh my gosh, I just remembered!" She ran over to the window and hissed, "I'm so sorry, wait just a second," to James. She then hurried around, changing her pajamas from shorts and an oversized tee to loose pants and a tank top. While she brushed her hair, she pleaded, "Betty, I'd really appreciate it if we kept this between each other." Betty agreed and Lily jumped out the window, onto James' broom and sped off.

"Now remind me again why I agreed to meet you alone in the middle of the night," Lily said with a shiver. The wind whipped past her bare shoulders and into her newly brushed hair.

"Because…"James thought for a moment about asking her out again, but resisted, "…I just…want to talk to you, that's all."

"Oh." Lily didn't understand why it couldn't have been during a break or a meal, but was feeling strangely irresistant to James this evening. She also because extremely aware of her hands around James' middle and could feel his abs tighten momentarily as they turned.

James knew that Lily had no idea how fast his heart was beating and was thankful for the breeze to cool the heat rising to his face as she adjusted her grip. He realized that her whole upper body was pressed against his back, which bade him think how hard his broomstick was and how cold the wind was. As soon as they landed by the lake, he offered her his cloak. She gladly took it and embraced its warmth. She noticed he was still in his uniform.

He saw her staring at his clothes and said, "Yeah, I couldn't really get to sleep."

They sat on the grass. James picked a dandelion and twirled it between his fingers. He was a smooth talker around girls, but tonight he was at a loss for words, which Lily inquired about.

"So…you wanted to talk to me…"

"Umm…yeah but…I can't…Evans…Lily…Ok, you have no idea how hard it is for me to talk to you, I'm so afraid I'll say the wrong thing, or you won't take me seriously, but then when you finally do, you'll be scared of me and think all I want to do is…maybe we should go." He said this all very fast.

"James Potter, you dragged me all the way out here to talk, so by gosh, I'm going to talk to you!"

He turned to her, beaming.

"You said my name."

"Only because you said mine first."

"You still said it." There was a pause.

"Yes, I did. And I liked it."

"You hated it before. You hated me; you told me I made you sick."

"You did. But this year…you changed, I know you did. Or maybe it's just me."

"Well, either way, I still get the good end of it." Lily giggled at his comment, but stopped herself.

"No, seriously. I've been picking something else up from you in the last few days and it's starting to scare me because I've never seen it in you before…"

"I think you just want a confession from me."

"That is precisely what I want."

"Before I start, you should know that I've wanted to say this for a long time. Jean told me to be friends with you first, but I think that would just make it harder." Lily looked at him, in awe of what she was hearing.

"I…I told you it'd be hard…ok. I didn't change on purpose. For the last few years, I always wanted to date you just to say I did. I just wanted you to tote around with me because you were the prettiest and most eligible bachelorette. Not to mention I was jealous of Sirius always getting whoever he wanted. But this year, the second I saw you, I knew it was different. I don't want you for the sake of having you anymore. I want you because you are the smartest, most charming and most beautiful girl I have ever known and I want to spend as much time with you as the next 8 months will allow. Because I know that if you don't come around…I'll never see you again." He looked beyond tears. Lily gazed at him with a look of wonder. She'd never seen this side of him before. He was being slow, thoughtful, kind and sensitive, and, she realized, that this wasn't the first time he'd been this way towards her. Why hadn't she ever seen it? Wait, she kept telling herself, this is Potter, the self-absorbed maniac who I hate. But the more she told herself she hated him, the more her heart told her to give him a chance, just one. James gave a huge sigh.

"Well, I knew it."

"What?" she said, surprised.

"You do hate me."  
"What? No, it's just—"

"It's ok, at least know you know."

"What?!" Lily was getting frustrated.

"I just poured my entire heart and soul out to you and you didn't say a word, clearly we're not meant for each other."

"No! I was just thinking about the past and why I never bothered to notice all the nice things you've don't for me."

"What?" It was his turn to wonder.

"I just let my head rule my heart, that's all. But don't you think it's too soon? We've only been back for three days and—"

"Lily, I've known you for seven years, long enough to know that now I only have one last shot at you."

"You're right."

They sat in silence for a few moments. It was a peaceful yet awkward silence.

"Maybe we've had enough talking tonight," James suggested.

"I agree. But I don't want to go in. Take me for a ride!" At this, his eyes widened in shock, but brought himself back to earth.

"Broomstick, right," he muttered, thankful she didn't notice. They both mounted his broom and once she had her arms tight around him, they kicked off from the ground.

Neither knew how long they were in the air for, nor did they care. All they knew was that soaring through the air above the grounds, wind whistling, clothes fluttering, with their bodies together was the most wonderful feeling in the whole world. James flew up under the window again.

"I don't want to leave," said Lily, still hugging James.

"You have to, it's almost three," he replied and turned around to face her.

"But I don't think I can sleep."

"Me either…" He wrapped his arms around her to slide her closer to him. "You are so…amazing," he whispered. Their faces got closer…their foreheads touched…hearts pounded and faces went serious.

James couldn't explain his next action. Whether he got caught up in the moment or it was just an impulse he couldn't say. All he knew was that all at once, he tightened his old on her and found his lips pressed against hers.

Lily couldn't understand why it had to happen now. His lips were so warm, his touch so inviting, she wondered why such an innocent kiss hardly longer than a second could hold such emotion. James also wondered why it happened when it did. He also couldn't explain Lily's behavior. She sat there and let it all happen. He decided that there was only one way to settle this, so he moved in for a second kiss, just as soft as the first.

Lily became more and more unaware of herself as she felt his lips on hers again. It felt so right. She went as far as putting a hand around his neck, but then James, sensing her approval, tightened his hold and sent a hand up to her cheek. She heard him sigh. She felt so secure I his arms, despite hovering a great distance above the ground on a broomstick, but she knew she had to end it. She wrenched herself away.

"No, I'm so sorry James, I just…can't," and she climbed into the castle.

James, in a whirl of emotion, hardly remembered flying over to his window and floating into bed. Her words echoed over and over in his head. He loved the way she said his mane. Especially the last time, when it rolled off of her tongue like some common conjunction. He resolved to ask her out a final time, tomorrow, alone, for real.

Ch.5 – A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow

Neither Lily nor James slept that night for a number of different reasons. Lily climbed through the window not to find her roommates sleeping, but rather all sitting around Betty's bed laughing. The wind had woken them up so they were listening to Betty's Salem stories. As soon as they saw Lily, they jumped on her case.

"You told them where I was?" Lily yelled.

"Well, I kind of had to, when you wake up in the middle of the night and find one of your roomies has up and left, someone's gotta explain!"

Inevitably, they made Lily give them a blow-by-blow account of every thing that happened and every word spoken on her adventure.

James however, couldn't sleep for all the tea in China; the feel of her body and her lips was still making his blood pound. He did make up his mind to ask her out, but for the next two weeks he kept seeing her and bumping into her, but he didn't have the nerve to ask.

Those weeks were a blur to him, he could only think about what to say to Lily to get her to agree to a date. Finally, one day after Charms (He chose this time so she'd be in a good mood, Charms was her favorite class.), He got his chance. She turned the corner with Michelle but Betty and Jean were nowhere to be seen. James was glad, that meant he only had one girl to pry her away from. He didn't need to pry though. He watched in amazement as Lily spotted him, talked to Michelle (who eventually left after her pleading), and approached him.

"H-Hey…"James managed to say.

"Hello James," she smiled.

"So…yeah. I want to talk to you again."

"Good, me too." She followed him around the corner where nobody could hear them.

"I am going to ask you out in a minute."

"I figured as much," she joked.

"No, really. But this time I wanted to do it alone so you know I'm really serious." He stressed the last few words. "But before I say anything, else, why did you want to talk to me?"

"About that night. To apologize, actually."

"Aw, don't apologize, I forced you into it."

"No, you didn't, that's why I wanted to talk to you. Because you were slow and gentle and I was an idiot for prying myself away."

"I see…quite the contrary from what I thought you did it for."

"What was that?"

"Because you don't like me."

"I see…"

"Lily," he carefully asked, fumbling for her hand, "one last time," he sighed, "Lily will you go out with me." He stated it boldly rather than asking a tentative question. The half-second that followed seemed like forever. He braced himself…

"Fine…" she said quietly. James' head snapped up.

"Excuse me?"

"Fine. I mean, yes."

"Are you serious?" he almost shouted, grabbing her shoulders, "You're serious, right?"

"Only if you are."

"I'm serious. You're serious? You're serious!!" He cried, heart thudding as he roughly embraced her.

"Well, how could I refuse after a love confession, a broom ride and a…a…kiss."

"Dija like that?" he asked, his grin spread a mile wide.

"Well, obviously or else –" but he silenced her by planting a sound kiss on her lips, squeezing her in his arms. It was full of happiness and she hated to break it to gasp, "Squeeze." He loosened his grip and looked at her. "You know, you're kind of cute when you're all happy like this," she said.

"Yeah?" he breathed, ruffling his hair, "But I'm sexy all the time, you know that," he joked, ruffling her hair in return.

"Yes, you are, now stop celebrating and kiss me properly." He immediately stopped.

"You want me to kiss you?"

"Get used to it Potter, I'm your girlfriend now."

"Ok Evans," he pretended to be offended.

"James."

"Lily."

Kiss.

He pulled her to him with his hand on her waist. His eyes were closed, so she closed hers too. This kiss was happy too, but much softer. His thumb stroked her cheek and triggered her reaction, to slip one hand around his body and the other around his neck. She felt his hot, wet tongue rub against her lips and froze. What was she supposed to do? He sensed this and quickly withdrew his tongue. The he felt her do the unthinkable: she tickled his hair and opened her mouth. He started and his tongue flew into her mouth. He also readjusted his hold so he was rubbing her back and stroking her hair. Lily only half expected him to respond so quickly, so it took her a second or two to start kissing back. Their tongues danced, sometimes exploring, others twisting together. They were just warming up when they heard a loud whistle and some clapping.

They shot apart, shocked to see the whole gang, Sirius, Remus, Michelle, Jean and Betty, applauding as Sirius shouted, "About time, you two!"

"I told you this was the year!" Michelle told Jean.

"This explains The Great Silence of James too," Betty joked.

They kept on chatting just to bug the two scarlet-faced lovers.

"Hey, nobody invited you to my corner," James said.

"You were the one shouting my name," Sirius retorted.

"Yeah right. That was 'serious' as in sincere, not 'Sirius' as in jackass," he carefully explained.

"Ah, I see. In that case, I'll leave you to it."

"Heh, but you see we, unlike you, are not horndogs and therefore, we will come with you to dinner."

"Not hungry. I, unlike you, took a little field trip last period."

"Yeah, where were you Betty and Jean during Charms anyway?" Lily piped up.

"That's confidential info till it's finalized, mate…" Betty jumped to answer before Jean gave anything away.

They all went to dinner and to bed without any further discussion on the mysterious meeting.

Ch. 6

"Come on!" Betty urged, "We're already late and there's still a whole other street to go!"

Jean, Sirius and Betty barreled down the crowded streets of Hogsmeade as fast as the crowds would allow.

"Take it easy, if we're already late then might as well take our time," Sirius panted.

"Well, there's still the issue of getting back before Charms!"

"Let's take it off then!" Jean shouted, pulling ahead.

"We can't do that, we've already missed it 2 times this week, people are gonna start asking questions that we can't answer…" Betty reminded her. "Oh, thank God, there it is…" The group spotted the Three Broomsticks across the street and crossed, sweeping through the door. Betty looked around and spotted the woman she was looking for.

"Stay here for a second, I didn't tell her that you were coming…" They nodded and watched as she walked over, received some verbal abuse from the woman then nodded and came over to retrieve them. "Don't worry about my aunt, I've got it under control."

She led them over to the booth where they sat down, Jean and Sirius across from Betty and her aunt.

"Betty, I still don't know if I can be comfortable with them here."

"Allow me to introduce to you…my aunt." Betty started.

"Look you guys, I'm sure your whole bunch is clever and charming, but-"

"They are my best friends in the whole school…or pretty much at all anymore and you know what? I'm tired of keeping everything a secret and they are the ones that I want to know." Her aunt looked a little taken aback and nodded.

"Know what?" Jean asked, bright eyed as usual.

"Everything," Betty said without trace of emotion. "Now let's just quit beating around the bush and tell them the deal already! This is Jean and Sirius." Betty's aunt said a quick hello.

"You all probably think I'm just some mean weird person now, so sorry that was your first impression…but I'm Rani Porter, I don't know if you know about me or not. I'm Betty's aunt. Yahoo?"

"Sounds groovy Ms. Porter," Sirius said, relaxing.

"Call me Rani, Ms. Porter makes me feel old. Besides, I'm only what, maybe 7 or 8 years older that you all?"

"Cool then. Now that we're all chummy, can we get on with the plans?" Betty was beginning to get agitated. "I really don't have all day…"

Rani took a big breath and looked to Betty for reassurance, who nodded again and sat back in her seat.

"Ok. Here's the deal, I'm just gonna lay it on the table for you, don't interrupt me, don't ask questions until I'm done because it's a crazy story," Rani took another huge breath.

"Back when Betty was about 9, her parents, John and Priya were part of a secret group of rebels that called themselves the Hillberg Killers. It wasn't too hard to be a rebel group at that time, what with the Vietnam War going on, there was plenty of leeway to cause trouble and magic went unnoticed for pretty much the whole decade between all the drugs…hallucinogens and things that were popular at the time. They were able to get away with a lot of crazy things, but with the Death Eaters beginning to rise to the height of their magical prowess, the Hillberg Killers could do less and less without being noticed. As time went on, they had to defend themselves more and cause trouble a whole lot less. Pretty soon all they could do was try to skirt around the ministry to try to protect those on the hit list of Voldemort's dangerous spies. Nobody could trust anybody. Then, the unthinkable happened."

"Yeah, stop with the dramatic language and just say it, my parents screwed over the entire future of our family and friends by one stupid night of partying. They weren't exactly model parents," she added seeing the look on Jean's face.

"Alright already, just trying to get through this," Rani continued. "So…parents in this group, Death Eaters on the loose, defending people, right. So this one night they went to your typical hippie party, pot, booze, guitars, bongo drums, because they suspected that one of the chicks hosting the party was involved with the…Voldemort. Yes, involved. It seems crazy, but hey, it was in their self-appointed title. So, the night is ripe, things seemed okay, so my sister decided to get a little crazy, and John followed her down. Before either of them knew it, things spun out of control. One thing led to another and Priya ended up Avada-ing the host who was, indeed, involved with...yeah.

"Of course, that didn't settle well over in England and Voldemort swore revenge on our whole family, which is when he really started gaining massive amounts of power and massive amounts of killing. He killed John, and then Priya committed suicide about 3 months afterwards, to his delight. Betty was about 11 at this point and her sister was 15. Word got out to another rebel group, the Order," she paused, glancing furtively around before continuing in a dropped voice, "that he would attack the house where Betty, her sister and I were all living…to finish us off…and they gave us the heads up. That night, the entire American branch came to protect us. 4 were lost, including my boyfriend at the time. It devastated what was left of the Porter family (all 3 of us) so we decided that we were too much of a target if we stuck together. We had to split, so I came here, to England and the girls went to live in the Order' headquarters, under their protection in New York. They sent the girls to school and things seemed like they were going to be okay for them. Take it away Bettes, this is the part I don't want to screw up…" Rani looked sideways and Betty psyched herself up for what was next.

"Alright. So things were looking good for me at school, my sis had graduated and moved to Virginia, I was in with a good group and had good marks…until about halfway through last summer. I knew something was wrong when I came home to Headquarters and Dumbledore was sitting in the living room. I'd never seen even a picture of him and to have him here at the flat was, obviously, a big deal. He told me to sit down, so I did. He said to me, 'Betty, I don't know how to tell you this and there is no time to explain, but you need to transfer to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Europe to finish your schooling. Come with me.' So I, being in a complete daze at the time for reasons I choose not to disclose at this time, followed him out the door with my backpack, my violin and my dog. Nothing else."

"You play violin?" Sirius asked.

"Not the point. I left without anything because I didn't know I was leaving. Dumbledore got a man in the States' Order to be a secret keeper for me and Rani. That was all I knew at the time. He informed me about the rest on the ride over here. Basically, Voldemort is planning to kill me and Rani and he wants to do it before I graduate school, before I turn 18. Don't ask me why, the Order has their own ways of knowing. Come to think of it, I don't even know! But anyways…I came here and I've been under protection, but that can only last so long. The attack is coming and someone's let the secret out. I don't know where to go now or how to protect myself, magically or otherwise, but I'm running out of time and it's becoming a little bit of a weight on my shoulders," She finished sarcastically, "Rani, Charms starts in 25 minutes and it takes about 15 to get back, let's wrap it up."

It was then she paused to look at everyone. Rani was tearing up and trying to suppress it, Jean was glued to the backrest of the booth, eyes wide, and Sirius sat, eyes out of focus with his head in his hands. Her stomach did an odd little flip and she noticed how his hand and his hair were so graceful as they moved – _No!_ she told herself _No more love. Love is what kills people…_He soon brought her back into the pub.

"How come you didn't tell us this earlier?" he asked, "If we knew what was hurting you we might have been able to help, we might still be able to, right?" _Oh, he's so nice…and sweet…NO NO NO!!! This is not going to work. Stop it._

"I wish it was that simple," Rani said to comfort him, "but there's nothing you two can do but offer a shoulder at this point."

"You guys, running out of time again…" Betty warned.

"Betty's coming to my house for winter holidays just to keep things under wraps, but maybe you two could come along so that you could just spend the holidays together and safe, god bless you."

"Rani, if they come, everyone has to come," Betty said.

"How many is everyone? I'm sure we can accommodate."

"Try 8 total, including everyone here"

"Ah, I've got plenty of room. And Lord knows I've been lonely. Come on, it'll be fun, I'll even take you dancing…" At this, Betty perked up.

"Oh really?"

"Really. Besides, I'm not so bad, am I?"

"Alright, I'll ask everyone. But no guarantees! 15 minutes and haven't paid for the drinks yet…"

"Well Rani, it was nice meeting you, I'm sure we'll see each other soon," Sirius said, becoming the charmer again, standing and leaving a few sickles on the table.

"Yeah, thanks for everything," Jean followed and the three made their way back to school.

More weeks passed and Jean, Betty and Sirius' disappearances became more and more frequent. The others became extremely aware, not to mention suspicious of where they kept disappearing to, so after weeks of demanding where they were, the adventurers were finally put through the inquisition of the century.

"Come ON, you three," Lily urged. She was steadily becoming frustrated, "We know you're up to something, and as Head Girl I demand you tell me where you're been."

"Does she always think she's queen like this?" Betty said, exasperated to James, who shrugged. "Listen, you didn't tell us about your moonlight extravaganza with him (she jerked her thumb at James), so we're not going to tell you. Where'd you get that idea anyway James?"

"Took a leaf outta Remus' book. It worked secretly for him for a year!" he teased.

"That," Lily interrupted, "is beside the point because I told you when you asked me."

"Yeah, but we didn't get all the details in our dormitory…" Sirius slyly added, "care to share?" Lily blushed but they couldn't tell if it was from the mention if that night of from anger. She still managed however to open her mouth before anyone else could.

"You dingbats are completely avoiding my questions!"

"Well, duh, because in case you haven't noticed, we don't – uh – won't tell you, so step off," Betty snapped.

Everyone went quiet. They knew Betty well enough to know that she barely ever got really mad at anyone. Lily doubled back and asked more softly,

"Can you at least tell me where you were?"

"H-" Jean started

"Hhh…oly crap, Lily, give her a break, she's had a rough day," Sirius said quickly but gently, turning to comfort Betty. "Hey," he said so quietly only she could hear him, "Nobody is going to make you tell anything you don't want to as long as I'm here." He took her hand and led her out of the Great Hall, ignoring Lily's look.

"Geez, I think that's the most melodramatic I've ever seen her," Lily said, turning back to her meal as if nothing had happened. Everyone looked at her in disbelief.

"You know, it was a little harsh of you to yell at her," James offered, "and Sirius is right, her day's pretty much sucked."

"What happened that was so bad it made _her_ mad?"

"You're not very observant, are you?" Michelle said. "Just for once, close your mouth and listen…listen to what they're all saying…" she gestured around the hall. Lily listened intently and caught Betty's name among whispering from many of the surrounding groups.

"That is a bit higher than average for people to talk about her," she spoke, trying very hard not to sound concerned, "But it's not like you know they're all bad mouthing her. Besides, if she wants to cry, she can go ahead. Sirius will keep her company," she added with a trace of a smirk.

"Hey," James and Remus both warned.

"You don't have a clue what you're talking about Evans," James growled, his hand clenching under the table.

Lily looked as if she'd just received a slap in the face. "Well, it looks like you do, so it you're so inclined, tell us _Potter_," she spat. It was James' turn to look shocked.

"Lily, I'm really really sorry, but I just don't think it was ethical of you to slam her just like that."

"Look at that, you've eluded my question again."

"Demand is more like it," he said and they both stood.

"Answer me Potter."

James gave her a look of disbelief and swept out of the hall.

"Lily," said Jean quietly. Everyone turned to listen because they'd just noticed that she's said next to nothing all night. It was highly uncharacteristic of her to be so meek. "Go talk to them," was all she said. "Go…" she repeated.

"What, are you all just not going to tell –" she stopped at the look on Jean's face. With a bewildered look, she spoke again, a flare of panic and confusion in her voice. "Fine. If nobody's going to say anything, I might as well leave anyway." And with that, she stormed off.

"I don't need a protector Sirius, you know that by now."

"I know, I just don't want you accidentally put yourself in danger just because Lily's an inquisitory bitch."

"Nice word."

"Which one?"

"Both."

The walk back to the Common Room was all but silent and Sirius spent it thinking about everything that had happened so far this year. He remembered the first time he saw Betty on the train, how they'd been fast friends and how whenever Lily had pissed her off she'd turned to the boys for escape. She'd done everything with him and his friends, whether it was planning a prank or executing a perfect potion. That led him to remember what Jean said earlier in the year about Betty being much more like him and his friends than Lily and Michelle. That was very true and he's honored her request of being friends with Betty first. She'd become almost as tight-knight with the boys as they were to each other. The whole truth was, however, that Sirius had to restrain himself carefully around her to keep from wanting her on the spot. He got a sinking feeling every time he thought about her because so far, she had only shown signs of wanting a friendship, or else she was a really good actress. He knew how much she trusted him by telling him the ordeal she was wrapped up in and wouldn't betray her trust for anything, including her body.

"What's wrong, did they change the password?" Betty asked. Their feet had taken them to the portrait hole.

"Nah, just thinking about stuff. Strawberry Fields." They climbed through the portrait hole.

"Want to share?"

"Not really…"

"Aww…come on, sharing is caring," she said as she gave him the puppy dog eyes and wrapped her arms around him.

"Fine. Come up to my room." They trudged upstairs. It was the first time Betty'd seen the boys' dorm. It was exactly the same as the girls dorm, but instead of clothes, make-up and pictures littering the walls and surfaces, quiddich posters, socks, brooms and candy wrappers were strewn all over the floor.

"Kind of a mess," Sirius apologized, patting the patch of bed next to him. She sat down. "Here's the deal. You say that Vvvvvv…oldemort…wants you dead before your 18th birthday?" She nodded. "Which is when?"

"May 19th."

"May 19th…" he repeated, "Well then that gives us loads of time to plan a…a plan."

"You can't plan in advance for Voldemort."

"No, but you can learn how to defend properly."

"I _know_ how to fight, Sirius, I really do. I knew every jinx and hex we've learned this year by the time I was 15 and I can do the Unforgiveables in a pinch –"

"You know the Unforgiveables?"

"Of course, everyone in the Order has to know them."

"Order? As in Order of the Phoenix?"

"Ssssshh!! Not so loud! Of course, what other Anti-Voldemort Order is there??"

"I mean since when have you been _in _it?" Sirius said, dropping down to a whisper.

"Since I turned 17, an 'adult' witch. Which seems strange since you're not legal for any jobs, licenses or…or…sex…until 18," she blushed.

"Why then…" Sirius tried to keep his mind out of the gutter, "…did you join when you were so young?"

"Well, like you said, I needed, or I mean Dumbledore _thought_ I needed to know how to defend myself after my parents…But once my sister and I…Well, the States' division of the Order pretty much adopted us and once we learned everything we could, we just started doing small little tasks and errands for Dumbledore and pretty soon we just knew too much, you know? So we had to take the oath."

"What oath?"

"I'd have to either swear you in or kill you if I told."

"Ah…and your sister?"

"Dead. Just like everyone else I ever loved."

They sat in silence for a moment before Sirius finally found words.

"Look Betty, I don't think you realized how much I…we…care about you. It kills us to see you so unhappy like this and now that I know, I'm willing to do anything in or outside my power to try and get through this."

"Alive," she shuddered.

"Yup. Because I have a really good present for you on your birthday and I'd hate for you to…er…miss it." He turned to her and smiled. She noticed again how his hair fell into his eyes and how he shook it away as he flopped onto his back. Then she forced herself to mentally slap herself.

"That's nice. Why now though? It's only October."

"I didn't know when your birthday was, so I planned ahead."

"What is it with you and planning?"

"Who knows," he shrugged.

A/N: Well, there it is, Chapter 6!! It's insanely long and I didn't even put the second part in…that will have to be chappie 7 instead. So now you know what you need to do…REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!! I was good and did I big update and I promise another decent sized one tomorrow…promise. If I get some reviews. I have a lot in store for you people, so watch your backs…hahahaha…I am the all-knowing author…I enjoy watching you suffer as you wait to see what unfolds…MUAHAHAHA!!!

Ch. 7 –

A/N: Ok!!! Another massive update!! Good things good things…so I'll let you readers get right to it but let me just say that this takes place where the little break was in the last chapter…Sirius and Betty go back to Gryffindor tower and Lily gets mad and storms out of the great hall to find…………………….Another chapter!!!

Ch. 7 –

Lily was about halfway to the library (she had NO intent whatsoever of going back to her house just now.) when she turned a corner to find a thin, dark-haired girl with a rather Morticia Adams look about her. Her skin was pale and her expression gaunt. Her eyes were deeply set giving her the look of heavy lids, yet she looked vaguely familiar. It was Bellatrix Black.

"Evans. How nice of you to stop by my hallway."

"Since when is it yours?"

"Ever since I marked it, accidentally of course, with my blood." Lily looked at her again. She felt something between curiosity and revulsion. "Oh, Evans, Evans, Evans! Don't tell me you don't know!" Bellatrix continued, though now more amused.

"You're insane," Lily said through gritted teeth.

"No, not me. It's your girl Porter you've got to watch out for, if she ends up sticking around," Bellatrix lazily replied.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Naturally, that's why I'm going to tell you," she continued in the same manner, ignoring the look on Lily's face. "After 5th period today, your little friend and my traitor of a cousin crossed into some dangerous territory with me. Then again, there hasn't really been a safe conversation between us, has there? Anyway, I was just telling dear old Sirius not to…fraternize…with someone like her…and she attacked me. That's all there is to it." By this time, Lily was feeing sick and decided the library could wait as she spun around and took off towards Gryffindor Tower.

She yelled the password and burst through the portrait hole. James looked up at her ghost-white face and immediately ran over.

"Lily, what's going on, what happened?" She shook off his arm, pointing at him.

"I need to talk to you!!!" she shrieked, "And you, you and you!" she pointed at Sirius, Jean and Betty in turn before gravving James' elbow and dragging him up to the boy's dorm. James looked back at the others with a look that said, "Come on, you heard her!"

They trooped up to the dorm with a tense silence surrounding them all. Today had been so strange, nothing was normal anymore. Jean ad been silet at dinner, Lily was out of control, and Sirius walked out on a meal. They filed in and sat in a line on Remus' bed, like children waiting for a lecture on keeping their rooms clean.

"Well." Lily started, shaking with calm, "I just had a lovely little chat with Bellatrix Black-"

"Oh, don't tell me you believe her-"

"She started the whole thing!"

"Just wait'll you hear-" They all began.

"No." Lily cut them off again. "I just want to know what happened and why I wasn't told." There was a huge pause and they all looked to Jean.

"Alright, come with me," Jean spoke.

They followed her across the room and Lily watched in awe as she unscrewed the knob on the nightstand drawer and turned the lever that appeared in its place. The nightstand retreated into the stone wall revealing a set of wooden steps leading to some kind of room.

Down she went, and motioned for the rest to follow. The staircase was relatively short and ended in a small room about 7 feet high and 10 ft square. In the center there were a few chairs surrounding a table with a basin in the middle of it. One of the walls was made of glass and through it they could look down on none other than the Slytherin Common Room. Lily leaped back in surprise.

"Let's get out of here, they'll see us!" she whispered urgently.

"Can't," Sirius grunted.

"Can't get out?"

"Nope, can't see us," he shrugged.

"But – what? How do you know that?" she protested. She was answered with several looks that said, "you don't want to know."

"That's not why we're here, now do you want to know what happened or not?" Betty said calmly.

"Better yet, you better come see it for yourself," Jean said, gesturing towards the wooden basin again.

"You don't mean to tell me-" she stopped in midsentence. The rest of them just half nodded, half shrugged.

"Just do it already!" Betty urged, gravely. "Oh, here," she put her own wand to her temple and placed the silvery orb in the bowl. Lily looked into the bowl but before she could express her doubts, Betty shoved her head into the bowl. Instead of feeling wetness though, Lily felt a spinning sensation and landed on her feet in the hallway she'd been in only an hour before.

She looked around and heard before she saw Sirius and Betty stumble around the corner, laughing histerically. She scrambled behind a pilar and peeked out to see Jean and James, sopping wet, come stumping up behind them.

"You know James, I don't think the drowned rat look really suits your complexion," Betty said flirtily, pushing his hair off his forhead. Lily felt her cheeks redden in anger.

"Chill out girl, it's not like I meant anything," Lily whipped around to see Betty from the Real World leaning against the pilar. "Oh, and they can't see or hear you, but the way. Now look…it's about to get good." They turned back to watch their memory friends.

"Funny," James gritted.

"What's even funnier is that you two don't have the sense to dry yourselves," Sirius pointed out, drying them both off with a huge gust of wind from his wand, making them all laugh again.

"Come on, we're going to be late if we don't do it soon!" Jean laughed, starting the group forwards again. The group followed her and Lily looked to Real Betty.

"Well…aren't you going to follow us?"

"This is wrong on so many levels."

"You asked. Now hurry up." They made their way around the corner following the group and couldn't find them anywhere. "Oh…wait…shit, stay here for a second," Betty said and disappeared through a door. Lily tapped her foot in a nervous state and looked around, seeing Bellatrix and some friends including Snape and Lucius Malfoy. Her foot started to tap faster and she started to shake, waiting for Betty and the other to come out.

Real Betty ran out first followed by Past Jean and James. James rolled his eyes and reached back into the room pulling Sirius harshly out by the elbow to his dismay. Betty came out moments later grinning. Lily looked to Real Betty, but she was turned away. Her ears were red.


End file.
